Minnows seek to stamp authority

Fatullah, 2014/Feb/28 12:23:00

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Bangladesh and Afghanistan are the weakest teams on paper in the Asia Cup and expectedly lost their first games to two other Asian powerhouses - while India crushed Bangladesh by six wickets, Afghanistan fell short of their target against Pakistan by 72 runs.

However, what stood out from both minnows were their fighting qualities. Mushfiqur Rahim and Anamul Haque helped the hosts set India a challenging 280 while Afghanistan reduced Pakistan to 116/6 before Umar Akmal's century powered the defending champions to a respectable total.

When Bangladesh take on Afghanistan on Saturday, it will be therefore, an interesting tussle. Bangladesh have had limited success despite a long presence in the international status while the Afghans have made a mark with their spirited bowling and dynamic fielding. Bangladesh have a strong batting line-up and it would be a good contest against Afghanistan's bowling attack.

Not many had expected Afghanistan's bowlers to trouble Pakistan, despite their brittle batting but the newest entrants in the big boys' club have shown they would not be mere pushovers.

The hosts, already without Tamim Iqbal and Shakib-al-Hasan (who will be eligible to play after the Saturday game, having served out a three-match ban), were dealt a big jolt when senior pacer Mashrafe Mortaza was ruled out of the tournament with side strains.

However, Bangladesh, won't be an easy proposition to face - they never are at home. They had reached the final of the Asia Cup two years ago after defeating India and Sri Lanka and had given a Pakistan a real scare in the title clash. Rest assured, it will be a battle worthy of cricket loves from both countries.

Sri Lanka have not won a major title for a long while and captain Angelo Mathews said that his side were happy to have broken the "barrier of finals" by defeating Pakistan in the summit clash to lift the Asia Cup.